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TOM · The Owner's Manual · Old Testament

Jonah 1

Before you read Jonah: who, when, why

BOOK 32 OF 66 · OLD TESTAMENT · MINOR PROPHETS

The Runaway Prophet

AUTHOR
Not stated. The book is about Jonah son of Amittai, 1:1, a prophet from Gath hepher in Galilee, 2 Kings 14:25. Tradition says he wrote it; many think someone else wrote it later.
DATE
Jonah lived in the days of Jeroboam II, about 793 to 753 BC. Many scholars date the writing later.
WRITTEN TO
God's people, who needed to learn that God loves even their enemies.
ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS
Parts of Jonah are in 4QXII a, one of the oldest Qumran scrolls of the Twelve Prophets, copied about 150 to 125 BC, in other Qumran copies, in the Greek scroll of the Twelve from Nahal Hever and in the Hebrew scroll from Wadi Murabbaat.
KEY VERSE
Jonah 2:9. Salvation is from Yahweh!
THE OLDEST COPIES OF JONAH

The Oldest Copies of Jonah

Pieces of 4QXII a, a scroll of the Twelve Prophets from Qumran Cave 4 and one of the oldest copies of them, about 150 to 125 BC. It holds parts of Jonah, though the plate does not mark which pieces are Jonah. Some think this scroll put Jonah last, after Malachi; others doubt it. Nearly all of Jonah is in the Hebrew scroll of the Twelve from Wadi Murabbaat. See The Murabbaat Scroll, Joel. Photo Shai Halevi, Israel Antiquities Authority, Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library.

The Setting

Assyria was the bully of the ancient world, famous for cruelty, and Nineveh was one of its great cities. Israel feared and hated it. Then God told an Israelite prophet to go to Nineveh and warn it. Jonah knew what that could mean: if Nineveh turned, God might forgive it. So he ran.

What Went Wrong

  • Running Away. Jonah tried to flee from the presence of Yahweh, 1:3.
  • Nineveh'S Violence. Its wickedness had come up before God, 1:2, and the king named the violence in their hands, 3:8.
  • Idols. The sailors each cried to their own god, 1:5, and Jonah says those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion, 2:8.
  • A Hard Heart. Jonah wanted his enemies judged, not saved, and was angry enough to die over it, 4:1 to 9.

Where to Find Jesus

  • Jonah 1:17. Jonah's three days and three nights in the fish. Jesus said the Son of Man would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, Matthew 12:40. See The Sign of Jonah.
  • Jonah 3:5. Nineveh repented at Jonah's preaching. Jesus said, One greater than Jonah is here, Matthew 12:41.
  • Jonah 1:5. Jonah asleep in a storm. Jesus slept in a storm too, then calmed it with a word, Mark 4:39.

Cool Stuff Most People Miss

  • The Sailors And the City. Every outsider in the book obeys God faster than the prophet does: the sailors, the king, the people and even the fish.
  • The Shortest Sermon. Jonah's sermon in 3:4 is five words in Hebrew, and a whole city turned.
  • Jonah And Peter. Jonah sailed from Joppa. Centuries later Peter, the son of Jonah, Matthew 16:17, was in Joppa when God sent him to the outsiders, Acts 10. See Joppa.
  • A Favorite of the First Christians. Jonah was one of the stories early Christians painted and carved most, as a picture of the resurrection. See The Jonah Marbles.

How Does It End?

Nineveh was spared, but not for good. About 40 to 60 years later Assyria destroyed Israel, and later Nahum warned Nineveh again. In 612 BC Babylon and the Medes destroyed it. The book ends with a question God asks Jonah, and every reader since.

Chapter 1 in 30 seconds

God tells Jonah to go east to Nineveh and preach against it. Jonah buys a ticket west. God sends a storm, the pagan sailors pray harder than the prophet, and the lot falls on Jonah. Throw me overboard, he says. They do, the sea goes calm, and a great fish swallows him whole.

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In this chapterField Notes · ArchaeologyJoppa · after verse 4MapJonah's World · after verse 3

Jonah Flees from Yahweh// Nahum 1:1–15

1Now the word of Yahweh came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, 2“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.”

  • JON 1:1[NOTE]JONAH SON OF AMITTAI. The same prophet who promised King Jeroboam II he would win back Israel's borders, 2 Kings 14:25. He came from Gath hepher, a few miles from Nazareth. See the Big Question Jonah Son of Amittai, 2 Kings.
  • JON 1:2[NOTE]NINEVEH. A great city of Assyria on the Tigris River, across from today's Mosul in Iraq. Assyria was Israel's most feared enemy. See The Walls of Nineveh.

3Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh.

  • JON 1:3[NOTE]TARSHISH. A far port in the west, most likely in Spain. Nineveh was about 550 miles east as the crow flies, more by road. Jonah ran the other way, as far as a ship could take him. See Joppa.

The Great Storm// Acts 27:13–26

4Then Yahweh hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship was in danger of breaking apart. 5The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.

  • JON 1:5[DEMONIC]In the storm each sailor cries out to his own god
  • JON 1:5[NOTE]ASLEEP IN THE STORM. Jesus also slept in a boat in a storm, Mark 4:38. Jonah slept because he was running from God. Jesus slept because He was the Lord of the sea.

6The captain approached him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call upon your God. Perhaps this God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”

7“Come!” said the sailors to one another. “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us.”

So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

8“Tell us now,” they demanded, “who is to blame for this calamity that is upon us? What is your occupation, and where have you come from? What is your country, and who are your people?”

9“I am a Hebrew,” replied Jonah. “I worship Yahweh, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”

  • JON 1:9[NOTE]WHO MADE THE SEA. Jonah says the right words about God while running from Him on God's own sea.

10Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Yahweh, because he had told them.

Jonah Cast into the Sea

11Now the sea was growing worse and worse, so they said to Jonah, “What must we do to you to calm this sea for us?”

12“Pick me up,” he answered, “and cast me into the sea, so it may quiet down for you. For I know that I am to blame for this violent storm that has come upon you.”

13Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea was raging against them more and more.

14So they cried out to Yahweh: “Please, O Yahweh, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life! Do not charge us with innocent blood! For You, O Yahweh, have done as You pleased.”

  • JON 1:14[NOTE]THE SAILORS PRAY. The pagan sailors pray to Yahweh before the prophet does.

15Then they picked up Jonah and cast him into the sea, and the raging sea grew calm.

  • JON 1:15[MIRACLE]The sea stops raging when Jonah is thrown in

16Then the men feared Yahweh greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh and made vows to Him.

17Now Yahweh had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.

  • JON 1:17[FORESHADOW]Three days and nights in the heart of the earth → MT 12:40; 16:4
  • JON 1:17[MIRACLE]Great fish prepared by Yahweh to swallow Jonah
  • JON 1:17[ALLUDED TO]The New Testament refers to this → MT 12:40
  • JON 1:17[TEXT]THE VERSE NUMBERS. In Hebrew Bibles this verse is 2:1, so chapter 2 is 2:2 to 11 in Hebrew and 2:1 to 10 in English. Scroll studies use the Hebrew numbers.
  • JON 1:17[NOTE]A GREAT FISH. The Hebrew says a great fish. Matthew 12:40 uses a Greek word for a sea monster, which the KJV turns into whale. See Could a Man Live Inside a Fish?

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